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New York – A 37-story office tower at 235 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, which is being converted into luxury apartments, suffered a significant structural failure on July 7 when two support columns on the 21st and 22nd floors buckled, causing floors between the 21st and 26th levels to sag. Video taken inside the building showed buckled support beams and visibly deformed interior walls, underscoring the extent of the damage. The building remained unstable on July 8, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the structure continued to move, prompting emergency crews to order evacuations of the tower and several surrounding buildings while authorities imposed street closures in the area. Outside engineers who inspected available evidence said additional failures could not be ruled out, although both they and city officials stated that a total collapse of the tower was unlikely. Fire Department Chief John Esposito said the steel-frame structure might experience a localized collapse, and structural engineer Joe DiPompeo noted that a progressive collapse, while considered unlikely, remained a possibility. The tower recently gained four new floors and a large cantilevered section added atop the existing structure, and Nathan Berman, managing principal of developer MetroLoft, described the incident as a “typical construction mishap,” saying columns near the northwest corner bent under the weight of the additions because they had not been properly reinforced. Crews worked through the night to shore up the compromised areas, while evacuation orders and street closures stayed in place on Wednesday as officials monitored the building for further movement.

By Lauren Mitchell | JQJO News